Corn pad



Ndv. 13, 1951 SCHOLL 2,575,133

CORN PAD Filed June 19, 1948 Patented Nov. 13, 1951 UNI T E D S TATES I FATE N T OF Fl C E iooRN PAD William M. Schdll, Chicago, Ill. Application June 19, 1942, Serial No. 33,972

1 .Claim. c1. 12s-153 'This invention relates to improvements in a corn pad and the like, andimore particularly to azsurgical pad of the type adhesively adhered to thehuman bodyfor'the reliefand beneficial treatment of corns, calli, bunions, and similar afflictions, although the invention may have other uses and purposes as'will be apparent to one skilled'in the art.

In the past, many'and various types ofadhesively attached corn'pads and the likehave :been developed, and'difficultyhas always'been experienced'in drawing on articles of apparel, such as hosiery, over such pads when attached without having the apparel catch on the pads and tend to' loosen them. Diiiiculty has also been'experienced in properly designing the pads to 'adequately'relieve the afiiictionof shoe pressure and the like. Further, difficulty has been experienced in mounting the pads on adjacenttoesorin close relationship on other parts of the foot without interference or overlapping between the pads,

themselves; Heretofore, also, now pads and the like usually were provided with an oval or round contour and in most cases were of even thickness throughout so that they did not adequately'ifit the toes of the user, especially if applied adjacent the tipof the toe.

With the foregoing in mind. it is an important objectof the instantinvention to provide a corn pad or'the like of the type adhesively secured to the human body; whichisdesignedand shaped to better fit the toes of a user.

Another object of this in ention'is the provision "of a corn pad or the like shaped for closer disposition to an adjacent pad than has been heretofore possib e without interference or overlapping between the-pads.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide an adhesivelv attached corn pador the'like having .a pointed forward end to fitthe small end of a toe better than heretofore possible and to permit the dra ing on of ho e without catching and in uring the hose or tending to-pull the pad partiall loose.

A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of a corn pad or the like "having a thicker posterior endthanthe anterior end to better carry the shoe pressure and friction and keep such pressure and friction away from the affliction.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a corn pad or the like having a pointed anterior end and a square posterior end with an elevated shoulder substantially midway :oi the afiliction receiving recess in the'padand extending transat right angles to the side edges.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant inven-' tion have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figural 'is a fragmentary composite plan view of the forwardiportion of a human foot equipped with a pair of corn pads or the like embodying principles of the instant invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged bottom plan view of one'of the pads itself;

Figure 3 is aitransverse vertical sectional view, enlarged, of the pad of Fig. 2, taken substantially as indicated by the line IIIIII of Fig. -2, looking in the-direction of the arrows; and

Figure 4 is'a view similar in character to Fig. 3 but illustrating a slightly different form of constructioniof the pad.

As shown on-the drawings:

In Fig. 1 the illustrated embodiment of this invention isshown associated with a human foot 5 and on each of two adjacent toes 6 and 1 a corn pad embodying principles of the instant invention .and generally indicated by numerals is mounted in operative position.

With reference now to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawingsit' will beseenthat the pad 8 comprises asbody part including a lower portion 9 of the same overall area as the entire pad and which may -be made of any suitable cushioning material such as cotton twill, sponge rubber, or other suitable substances. The lower portion 9 m3y'b'8'0f01'1i3 or more laminations as may be deemed most feasible. The body part or portion also includes an upper portion H] which also may be of one or more 'laminations and is tion provides a transverse shoulder H on the This upper portion Iii does not ex-' upper part of the pad. The entire body part of the pad including the portions 9 and I is cut so as to provide an opening l2 for the reception of the corn, callus, or other body affliction. Over the body portion of the pad and covering the opening i2 is a cover l3 which is preferably of water impervious adhesive tape having an adhesive undersurface [4 by means of which the cover is secured to the body part, and the adhesived undersurface 14 will be exposed in the opening [2. The underface of the lower portion 9 of the body part is also provided with,

an adhesived surface as indicated at 15 in Fig. 2. Preferably the adhesive is of the pressure sensitive variety.

The contour of the pad is a highly important feature of the instant invention. It will be noted first that the pad is provided with sub stantially straight and parallel side edges l6 and I I and a pair of converging forward edges l8 and I9 which terminate in a substantially rounded point 20, all as seen clearly in Fig. 2. The rear edge of the pad 2| is also preferably straight and disposed substantially at right angles to the side edges l5 and H. All corner portions are preferably rounded so as to avoid any sharp corners that might catch on articles of apparel. With this contour, there is, in effect, a pointed forward end on the pad and a squared rear end.

Such a pad, especially with the pointed forward end, better fits the toes of the foot, and this is particularly true when the pad is applied to a toe near the tip of the toe. Further, the pointed end of the pad permits a stocking or sock to be pulled over it without catching on the fibers of the hosiery and without any tendency to pull loose the front end of the pad. The straight side edges permit the pads to be disposed adjacent each other without interference or overlapping of the pads themselves, as would be the case were the pads of oval or round con-- tour as has been customary heretofore. This feature of the invention is best illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein the two adjacent pads are closer together than they could be placed if of oval or round shape, and yet as clearly-indicated in this figure those two pads could be moved still closer together, in fact until the adjacent straight side edges were in contact with each other, but there would be no overlapping of structure. Thus, corns and similar foot afflictions may be effectively treated in extremely close quarters.

It will be also especially noted that the squared rear portion of the pad is of greater thickness than the forward portion of the pad by virtue of the extra body portion I 0. The main shoe pressure is therefore carried by that part of the pad rearward of the shoulder ll, thus removing such pressure more effectively from the afiliction than if the pressure were carried in the main by the entire pad. The forward portion of the pad is therefore left tightly adhered to the toe or other part of the foot without interference from heavy pressure. By providing the increased thickness of the body portion in the upper part of the pad, the shoe pressure is not only carried in the desired location on the pad, but the undersurface of the pad is left smooth and level for secure adherence to the body. A further feature of the instant invention resides in the contour of the opening I2. It will be noted from the showing in Figs. 1 and 2, that this opening has substantially parallel straight side edges 22 and 23, connected at adjacent ends by arcuate front and rear edges 24 and 25. Ex-.-

perience has shown that an opening of this shape which is neither round nor purely oval will fit more toe corns than an opening of any other shape. The structure is so assembled and relatively sized that the shoulder II is preferably disposed substantially midway or a little to the rear of the transverse center of the opening l2 to better remove pressure from the aflliction.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a slightly difl'erent construction of the instant invention, wherein the body portion is of a single piece of material 26, such as cotton felt, sponge rubber, or the like, and this body portion gradually decreases in thickness from the rear end of the pad to the forward end thereof. The body portion is provided with an ailliction receiving opening [2a of the same character as the opening 12, and a cover [3a similar to the cover l3 above described overlies the entire top surface of the pad. Preferably the pad of Fig. 4 is of the same shape as above described in connection with Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive. The device of Fig. 4 operates in substantially the same manner as the device previously described. While the device of Fig. 4 may not be as desirable as the device of Figs. 1 to 3 in certain instances, it is herein shown to illustrate the fact that the instant invention is not limited strictly to the structure disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings.

It should also be noted that the instant invention may be made in various sizes so that the most feasible size for any particular aliliction may be selected. When the invention is in the size of a bunion pad'for disposition adjacent the metatarsal head of the great toe, for example, the straight side edges of the pad permits a proper positioning well down toward the plantar surface of the foot without discomfort to the user.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A surgical pad for corns and similar afflictions, including a body of cushioning material having an opening for reception of an affliction and having substantially straight parallel side edges and a rectangularly disposed rear edge, forward edges converging substantially to a point, a cover over said body portion coextensive therewith and adhesively secured thereto, said pad being'materially reduced in thickness forwardly and sub stantially medially thereof, a transverse shoulder formed thereby extending the entire width of the pad whereby pressure on said pad will be removed from the reduced portion thereof away from the ailiicticn and distributed uniformly ove the thicker area of said pad.

WILLIAM M. SCHOLL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Y D. 121,576 Scholl July 23, 1940; 2,081,715 Scholl May 25,1937

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 138,520 Great Britain Feb. 12, 1920- 468,552 Great Britain July 7,1937- 

